Category Archives: hope

one month

12 Friday Jun 2009

Posted by in cancer, friends, health & happiness, hope

≈ 15 Comments

Orange_Calendar_2009

This is such an amazing story, though I’m not quite sure where to begin …

What the heck, let’s start with raincoaster. Awhile ago Facebook killed her account for using a “fake name”, so she started a new one using her real name and went through the rather tedious exercise of getting her friends list back together.  This started me thinking that my FB Azahar Sevilla account would probably suffer the same fate and, although I really don’t like FB, Rain convinced me that it is excellent for promoting events like classes, and so I decided to set up a new account using my real name too. Starting from scratch also meant that I could weed out the … well, the weeds. And it was just the kind of semi-mindless project I felt up to tackling this week.

The amazing bit happens next …

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a day at the hospital

11 Thursday Jun 2009

Posted by in cancer, chemo, friends, health & happiness, hope, hospitals, life stuff

≈ 12 Comments

day at the hospital

It was just supposed to be a routine appointment.

[warning: long, rambling and not very interesting
– just the way it actually happened!]

Last January when I had my post-surgery check-up I mentioned that since the operations (this had been my third in seven months) I’d been experiencing a painful burning sensation along the outside of my right thigh when I was in bed. I couldn’t remember if I’d had it before the ops, and the surgeon thought it was worth me getting it checked out. Though he clearly didn’t think it was too serious as my appointment with neurology was made for six months later. Yesterday, in fact. Of course, last January I didn’t know I’d be back on chemo . . .

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time out…

08 Monday Jun 2009

Posted by in cancer, change, chemo, fitness, food & drink, friends, health & happiness, home, hope, life stuff, yoga

≈ 17 Comments

healing

Remember multi-tasking az?
Well, she is taking some time out.
She needs some time to heal.

I just couldn’t do it all. I’ve spent the past two months going through the horrors of chemo for the second time, trying to organise work projects and find new students to teach, pay my bills, make new contacts … and all it’s doing is wearing me out. I haven’t actually found any work and I know that – things being the way they are in Seville – the chances of anything picking up for me workwise won’t realistically happen until September. So it’s time to stop hitting my head against that brick wall for now and time to start doing what I know will help me.

I’ve spent the past few days “practicing” my new healing method and you know what? It feels great. I’ve been listening to exactly what my mind and body need and then doing just that. And I know that, for me, this is the best way to heal.  I also know that doing this isn’t going to make me one euro, and I have no idea how I’m going to make ends meet over the summer … but I just can’t worry about that now.

This is what I need to do. Follow my heart.

race for life

02 Tuesday Jun 2009

Posted by in cancer, fitness, friends, hope, love

≈ 10 Comments

race for life

My friend Sara (happily owned by those two wee rapscallions Foley & Murphy) did the central London Race for Life with her mum this past weekend. Considering that she just finished treatment this past January I think this was quite an accomplishment. It also brought happy tears to my eyes when media naranja Steve sent me this photo yesterday saying, “this picture is just to let you know you are in our thoughts, and that you are not alone, no matter what”. For every so-called friend or family member who has dumped me over the past year, this really makes up for it.

Thanks Sara & Steve. That really made my day.

They were running for life up in Oirland as well.
Here’s a video of h2g2 pal Beatrice doing her part…

Well done, girlfriends!

day ten

24 Sunday May 2009

Posted by in cancer, chemo, fitness, food & drink, friends, health & happiness, home, hope, tapas

≈ 20 Comments

sun_clouds

It’s day ten after the last infusion and the sun is starting to shine again. Well, in terms of how I feel – it’s actually been nice and sunny here for ages. But it’s around this time of the chemo cycle that I can start drinking cool beverages again, take stuff out of the fridge without it hurting my fingers, and stop feeling so bloody weak and bleh. I could tell it was different when I woke up yesterday morning … can’t really explain it, just that things felt less “heavy and bleak” and somehow less “wrong”.  What a relief!

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